Machine fob handling



L. B. Pleason. MACHINE FOR HNDUNG ADDRESS CARDS APFLiCATION FILED APR-26| l9l9.

Patntd, Dec; 23,1919.

UNITED STATES LOUIS B. PIERSGN, F SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR HANDLITG- ADDRESS-CARDS.

Application alec. April 2e To @ZZ ywhom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, Louis B. PmnsoN, a citizen of the. United Sta-tes of America, residing at Springfield. in the county of -ampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Handling Address- Cards, of which the following is a specification. 1

My invention relates to machines for handling cards containing matter which it is desired to copy, and in particular to machines for handling address cards.

lt has for its object the ready presentation of one card of a series to the view of a typist, and the removal of that card and the presentation of another when the matter ou the first named card has been copied.

The machine can best be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows a vertical section through my improved apparatus; n

Fig. 2 is an endl eleif'ation thereof, with some parts removed, substantially on line 2 2- of Fig'. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan of a portion of the bottom of the upper card container; and

Fig. e is a detail of a clutch mechanism,

Business letters in which the body of the letter is printed or typed by means of any ,f of the usual multiplying` devices and the heading and address are imprinted with an addressing machine have the well recognized disadvantage that their character as a form letter is easily recognized, and they are frequently discarded by the recipient without reading. For this reason many business houses have abandoned this practice, and have the whole letter, heading and body, prepared on a typewriter. If numerous duplicate letters are to be sent to various addresses it is necessary to provide some means by which the succession of addresses may be presented for copying. A simple list is unsatisfactory both because it does not lend itself to ready revision, and because it is hard to follow in copying.

I have devised a mechanism whereby the addresses, or other matter to be copied, may be written or typed on cards, which are displayed before the copyist one at a time. The cards 10 are originally placed in a magazine 11 supported on legs 12. The front of this magazine is partially cut away, as at 13, so that while the cards are retained Speccaton of Letters Patent.

vPatented 139.13.23, 1919.

, 1919. Serial No. 292,922.

with the bottom of the magazine and spaced from the front thereof so as to form a slot 20 out of which the cards may pass, and feed rolls 21, having an insert 22 of friction'ma# terial such as rubber adapted to grip the card at the front of the magazine. Plate,

19 is preferably adjustably mounted by screws 23 passing through enlarged holes 24 in the bottom of the hopper and threaded into the plate, so that the width of slot 20 may be varied to accommodate cards of different thicknesses. Preferably, also, if the adjustable constructionfis used, plate 19 has its rear edge biased, as at 25, to prevent the lower edges ofthe cards catching in the space between it and the iiXed bottom of the hopper. Rolls 21, of which there are preferably two, to insure the card being Yfed squarely through the slot, are driven by a chain 2G, which passes around sprockets 27 on the shafts of the feed rolls and around sprockets 28 on a shaft 29 to be more fully described later. The friction inserts 22 serve to grip the foremost card and force it down through slot 20 as the feed wheels are rotated.

The cards drop from the slot 20- through a guide 30 into a second magazine 31. This magazine is provided with a slanting follower 32,'held in position by screws 33 traveling in slots in the bottom of the magazine, and conveniently having rollers 34 to reduce friction; and with a. pivoted packer 35, hinged to the magazine at 36. The packer has an arm 37 rigidly secured hereto, and the arm is connected by a link 38 to a crank 39 on shaft 29 previously referredto.

Shaft 29 is provided with mechanism whereby it may be rotated one revolutionV when the operator desires to remove a card' from the upper magazine. For this purpose a gear e0 is connected to the shaft by a ball clutch 41 of a usual type, yillustrated in Fig. 4. Meshing with this gear is a rack 4:2, forming part of a rod 3 carried in bearings est and 45, the latter of which also furnishes bearing for shaft 29. Rod 43 car-k ries an adjustable collar 46, between which and bearing 44 is aspring 47 and has a handle 48 by which it may be pulled by the operator toward the right in Fig. 1. Bearing 44 may be countersunlr to receive spring 47 when compressed if desired. By drawing the rod 43 to the right, gear 40 and shaft 29 are rotated. Collar 46 is adjusted so that the gear will make exactly one revolution, so that the feed roll will stop in the same position at each pull 0f the handle, and so that the cards will be fed regularly. lhen the handle 48 is released, spring 47 will return the rod to the position shown in Fig. l, clutch 4l permitting this motion to take place Without shaft 29 being rotated.

The operation of the device is as follows. A stack of cards is placed in the upper hopper, their faces toward opening 13. When the operator has finished copying the address on the card at the front handle 48 is pulled until collar 46 stops the motion of the rod.

v During the rst part of the rotation of shaft 29 which is thereby caused, feed rolls 2l are rotated to feed the foremost card out of the upper magazine, and packer 85 is moved to the position shown in Fig. l. The card then drops between the packer and the slanting stack of cards in the lower maga- Zine. Continued rotation of shaft 29 moves the packer to force the new card against the stack and to move the stack slightly backward. Handle 48 is nally released, thus setting` the parts in position for a new card to be fed.

I claiml. In a device of the class described, a rei ceptacle adapted to hold on edge a stack of cards having thereon matter to be copied, said receptacle having a cut away portion to enable the matter on the foremost card to be read, a feed roll adapted to engage the foremost card through said cut away portion, a slot in the bottom of the receptacle through which the foremost card may pass, a second receptacle to receive cards as they are fed from the first receptacle, means to pack the cards in the second receptacle, and means under the control of the operator and having a definite limit of motion constructed to operate both the feed roll to feed one card from the first receptacle and the packing means to pack such card in the second receptacle.

In a device of the class described a receptacle adapted to hold on edge a stack of cards having thereon matter to be copied, said receptacle having a cut away portion to enable the matter on the foremost card to be read, a feed roll adapted to engage the foremost card through said cut away portion, a slot in the-bottom of the receptacle through which the foremost card may pass, a second receptacle to receive cards as they are fed from the first receptacle, a pivoted packer arranged in the second receptacle, a shaft, connections between the shaft and the feed wheel, connections between the shaft and the packer, a rod, and rack pinion and ratchet connections between the rod and the sha-ft, whereby reciprocation of the rod in one direction causes operation of the feed roll and packer.

LOUIS B. PIERSON. 

